All-Nighter by the California Coast

I pulled an all-nighter by the ocean last weekend. My friend invited me to go on a very go-with-the-flow, spur of the moment type of trip.

"Wanna go shoot on Friday night? I wanna try to catch the Milky Way. Depending on how it goes it might be a late night or all night thing."
"Okay."

... and just like that, 7 hours on a Friday night was spent sitting next to the water, listening to the soft waves crash into the rocks.

We had rendezvoused at our climbing gym around 9pm, getting a small workout done before heading out around 11:30pm. We cruised down the California Coastal Highway for a good hour or so with the moon illuminating the ocean next to us, and I could only think about how relaxing this drive would be in the day time. How did I go through my whole life as a Golden State native without taking a trip down such a scenic and epitomical coastal drive? I've been missing out.

1am

Our main attraction was the Pigeon Point Lighthouse down the California Coastal Highway. 2am was going to be the optimal time to capture milky way behind the lighthouse from where we were standing. Unluckily for us, the clouds had rolled in and blanketed the sky . We took a few shots and decided to test our luck for a clearer background later in the night.

We found a break in the clouds in the distance and waited to see how it would turn out once it made its way closer:

The clouds did clear, but the moon was too high in the sky for any milky way shots. So we attempted to get a closer shot of the lighthouse. My friend mentioned a paved path we could take, but as we walked closer we heard a dog barking from inside one of the houses. Oops. We ended up staying put by the main road lest we wake anyone up.

3am

We've yet to get the shot we came here for... and the clouds came back. Snack time.

My friend boiled up some water and the three of us had an instant noodle sampler consisting of: an unknown brand from Daiso (the amount of sodium in this is completely INSANE), Mama's tom yum noodles, and Black Shin Ramen. Jasmine green tea was also heated up to fill our thermos. Great idea, because standing around all night was starting to get a little chilly.

The clouds finally cleared up again an hour later, but the moon was still fairly high in the sky. No milky way shots tonight, but we did end up staying long enough to watch the moon set over the ocean, which was pretty surreal.

5am

I convinced my friends to stay around the area to catch the sunrise. We left the lighthouse and stopped by a couple of beaches to look for a eye-catching location (with an open gate) to capture dawn before settling on Pescadero State Beach, which had a few cliffs in the distance. Once we pulled into the parking lot, we promptly knocked out for a power nap.

6am

As soon as my eyes opened half an hour later and I glanced outside, I was awake. No caffeine needed to jumpstart my day (those who know me knows how rare this is), because the view outside was pretty amazing.

I took a few shots at the edge of the parking lot before going back to the car to wake my friends up to go take pictures. They wouldn't get up :(

So, with my tripod I went off exploring on my own while they slept, finding a small sense of satisfaction and connection with the other lone strangers who also stopped by the beach early in the day. A fisherman toured the nearby cliffs with his rod and tackle, searching for the ideal location to cast his line. A motorcyclist turned off the highway, sitting on his bike in the parking lot taking in the view and snapping pictures on his phone. Another older woman who followed me halfway down the steps to the beach before deciding it was too slippery and turning back.

For an hour I skipped rocks at the beach (ALL the stones were perfect for it) and constructed rock cairns.

It was a great morning, and a great end to a night of photography.

We'll be back again when it's the New Moon. Maybe we'll go even further south next time to Big Sur?

Featured Photo: Moon setting at Pigeon Point, CA.

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All-Nighter by the California Coast